ted that it can run clubs profitably and successfully.
Another strength that the company has is that it has partnered with a Japanese company. This removes the burden of establishing business ties from Rallysport and enables it much quicker market access to the Japanese market since business relationships can be difficult to build. Such a partnership should prove beneficial and offer considerable advantage than if the company were trying to enter the Japanese market alone.
A third strength is the financial success of the company in the United States. This gives it considerable resources on which it can draw as it enters the global arena. This is not to say that the company has unlimited resources available, but that it should be able to adequately support its investment in Japan.
One of the company's greatest strengths is also its greatest weakness: the company's success in the United States. Rallysport has determined that the Japanese penchant for American products will carry over into the racquetball market. This is based on the company's research that reveals that the Japanese consumer is also interested in fitness, but overlooks important psychographic information which may prove fatal to the racquetball experience.
Traditionally, the Japanese favor team activities, not individual ones. Volleyball has proven popular among housewives, but volleyball is a team sport. The same can be said for other popular activities, including baseball. It is not clear at this point that racquetball, which emphasizes individual performance, not team performance, will be accepted by the Japanese. It is not an activity which can be performed alone, but instead puts one individual in competition with another. This may be the most significant factor which contributes to racquetball failing to be accepted in Japan.
This points to a larger problem, which is a failure on the part of Rallysport to consider the Japanese market separat...